Chapter 4: Training and Knowledge.

{1st person view}

Today was Saturday.

I had just woken up, and as soon as my soul returned to my body, I got up and stretched to get rid of the little sleep I had left.

Looking to my right where my headboard was, there was a small alarm clock on top of it.

At this moment it was 5 am, after briefly looking at the time I turned my head to the other side of the room where my sister was lying, no, she was sprawled on the bed like an idiot.

I couldn't help but hold back a laugh at the sight of that scene, after that I went to my closet and changed into a gym-themed outfit before leaving the room and going to the kitchen.

I made myself a snack and two cups of coffee so I could drink, and it seems that even EMIYA's cooking skills are available to me, think of that as a very nice bonus.

As soon as I finished my snack, I grabbed the only cup that was still full and headed towards the warehouse.

When I arrived at the shed at home, I put down the cup before pulling the necklace that was around my neck, the necklace was a semi-transparent golden orb with several glowing circles around a bright yellow, almost white sphere that was attached by a chain around my neck, this was the Void Archives.

It reacted as soon as I took it in my hand and glowed before transforming into an earring with golden feathers that constantly pulsed with small bursts of energy that slightly influenced my mind.

Feng Huangdown, this was the copied version of the divine key made by the Void Archives.

My Saturday was always a different adventure, since I always spent those days using the divine key to blend in with EMIYA's memories and to try to have my own.

Today I would simulate a specialized shooting range, I had been planning to do this for some time considering that my bow skills had not yet been truly explored until this point.

But before I actually did that, I started channeling my magical energy through my body in systematic cycles before altering the way it circulated through my body little by little.

What I was really doing was utilizing magical energy outside the limits of my circuits, this was something I should learn to do since my powers are not limited to the predetermined path of my circuits.

This will also help me to be able to continue fighting even if my circuits overload, it will also prevent me from frying from the inside out.

After finishing this little routine exercise, I channeled my energy into the divine key and activated it.

As soon as I did that, the entire space around me collapsed and reformed in the blink of an eye, now around me was a large flat green field that contained several targets of different sizes and at varying distances.

Further behind me I noticed a shelf with several bows of different models and sizes, along with quivers of arrows made entirely of wood, stone and steel.

I found this quite strange since I hadn't thought of any types of arrows, but it still ended up being useful.

With my surroundings analyzed, I went to the bookshelf and picked up a longbow that suited my size before picking up a single wooden arrow.

Why is that? Well, first of all I want to be able to hit an arrow at a target with my own capabilities, without using EMIYA's memories or techniques, although considering my level I will use Shirou's memories first.

I want to do this so that I don't depend entirely on Emiya's powers and his versions, and for that I challenged myself to hit even the most basic target with an arrow.

"Fuuhhh, let's go" I breathe before placing the arrow on the bow and pulling back. A complete failure, the arrow was very crooked and I couldn't keep it and had to release it to start over.

I repeated this same action about three times before I managed to position the arrow in a way that I wouldn't drop it when I tried to pull it.

So I pulled the wooden arrow again for the fifth time, finally managing to keep it in the shooting position, and I released the arrow.

Failure, the arrow fell uselessly next to me again. I really didn't know how to keep it still, so I tried again, and again, fourth attempt, fifth attempt, sixth attempt, seventh, eighth, tenth, twentieth.

until after twenty-two attempts I managed to launch the arrow 10 meters away from me, it was a milestone since I disregarded the other times I launched it 5 meters away from me since the way they came out seemed like I just applied force to launch them forward instead of actually having the skill to do so.

From there, I continued to launch the next five arrows further and further away, using my perfect memory and enhanced neural capabilities to get better and better, until with the fifth arrow I managed to hit the target even though it was almost off target.

The distance at which the targets were positioned was similar to those in the Olympic competition, which is 70 meters, while the one I'm using is 50 meters away from the launcher.

I couldn't help but sigh before lowering the bow I had in my hand.

"That's it, I finally managed to hit that target!!" I exclaimed out loud with excitement for finally achieving my goal of hitting a target without prior training.

It was a childish challenge, but I wanted to enjoy even just a little of this childhood I had achieved before all the problems I know will come my way, besides, I don't want to depend solely on EMIYA's abilities to be able to survive, I want to be able to do it for myself.

With that done, I rested for five minutes before focusing on the divine key again. With the divine key working, I began to focus on the memories I had of Shirou about archery.

I started by simply reviewing the basics to correct any mistakes I had made and to engrave all the ways to use the basics into my muscle memory.

And let's face it, reviewing the basics made me realize that I was very far from what archery really was. Most of the things I did were slowly replaced by the correct actions, leaving only a few movements that were correct, with small adjustments to improve them.

So after absorbing Shirou's memories, I continued to practice for a few more minutes to complete 1 hour of archery training.

After completing that one hour, I changed the structure of the world around me. It now looked like a magical research laboratory and I was in the center of the testing hall.

As soon as I observed the surroundings to see if there was anything out of place, I sat down in the center of the hall in a relaxed manner.

'How can those protagonists sit in the lotus position, this is so exhausting' I couldn't help but complain mentally.

After a few sets of breaths I began my most important training, which is also the basis of my strength from now on.

[Magecraft].

Magecraft is what we used to call Magic, but in today's times after the Age of Gods it is much weaker, only being able to extract a predetermined amount of power from the Root, which is basically the beginning and end of everything.

And since this power is limited, the more Magus there are, the weaker the Magecraft becomes individually and the harder it becomes to perform.

Magecraft is essentially the practice of using these ancient Mysteries, however, as the modern world is increasingly dominated by logic and science, today's magic is a watered down version of what it was in ancient times, when the Mysteries were at their peak.

The spells and rituals that magi use today are based on ancient Mysteries, but they have lost some of their potency because the modern world no longer "believes" in the power of these practices. This means that magi need to perform more elaborate rituals or expend more magical energy to obtain the same effects that, in the past, could have been achieved with less effort.

Magecraft, is the ability to do what is possible through science with supernatural means; although the process is considered a miracle, the results are not.

What is accomplished with this is called spells, and they are fueled by Magical Energy that is their essential element for functioning.

'Although depending on the culture it is also called primordial animus or prana'.

Magical energy is classified in two different ways, which are, Mana and Od, which although they are almost the same in terms of quality, the difference is that mana comes from the atmosphere and exists in greater abundance, while od comes from within the magus and in smaller quantity.

Od is generally less used because it is smaller in quantity and can only perform small spells with a few exceptions, while mana can be used freely from thin air for the purpose of magic that exceeds one's personal reservoir, but the amount that can be used at one time is correlated with the capacity of one's Magic Circuits.

Magic Circuits are a system of pseudo-nerves that spread throughout the human body and are also what qualifies a person as a magus or to be one.

Magic Circuits have two basic functions: one is to convert Life Force into magical energy and the other is to allow its owner to access Thaumaturgical Foundations.

A Thaumaturgical Foundation, also known as a Greater Magical Formula, is a set of Magical Formulas, each of which executes a spell (program) written within it when a mage connects his Magical Circuits to it and sends magical energy and commands.

Each Thaumaturgical System forms its own "recording" of the basis of its Thaumaturgical Theory into the world, and the further away its member is from his Thaumaturgical Foundation, the weaker the effect of his magic becomes.

The magical circuits reside in the soul of the magus, what is normally found in the body is merely a physical representation similar to a nervous system.

Like any other organ, the number of magical circuits someone has is determined from birth and does not change naturally, meaning that those with older bloodlines will be more powerful.

However, it is possible for this number to decrease, as magical circuits once damaged cannot be restored again, although in special cases it is possible to artificially alter this number.

'That reminds me, I have 30 main circuits and 27 sub-circuits, I thought I would have 27 like Shirou'.

'Which also reminds me that Tohsaka had 40 main circuits and 30 sub-circuits'.

'I guess that would make me some sort of artificial child of theirs? I think so since I am a mix of Shirou's appearance with her, in addition to having an intermediate amount of their circuits'.

'Well, back to the review'.

At its core, magecraft is merely the manifestation of things that already exist or occur in reality, albeit with a level of disregard for time and the materials needed. 

Phenomena that are not part of this universe are impossible to reproduce, in order to create something, another object must be given as a price, or an existing object is modified.

The basis of all magecraft is the use of magical energy to produce something that already exists or may exist, that which falls under the category of Phantom, something made from images and may no longer exist naturally such as items made by [Projection], end up being eliminated by the World for being in conflict with this rule.

Shirou was able to circumvent this rule to a certain extent when it comes to his [Projections], as everything he Tracks is actually being pulled from his own internal world by the power of his Reality Marble.

[Projection], also called Air Gradation, is a practice that involves the materialization of objects, coming according to the caster's imagination, using the use of magical energy.

The gradation comes from the fact that the created object slowly disappears after being created, and Air is an allusion to the fact that the object is made from "nothing", the concept behind this magecraft is quite simple: molding magical energy into the material composition and design of an object that is being imagined by the magus.

The created items are not eternal, as they are recognized by the world (Gaia) as Phantoms that do not belong to the natural world, and will be erased as an inconsistency.

It is said that the better the image in the conjurer's imagination, the more stable and lasting the object will be, and it can be further improved by having technical knowledge of its construction, such as a blueprint, or having materials to superimpose the desired shape.

'Which reminds me of a theory I saw on the internet'.

'That in fact Shirou is the remaining human part of Angra Mainyu that had been trapped in the Grail since the third war, and that he was only freed when Kiritsugu ordered Artoria to destroy the Grail in the fourth war'.

This theory came to light not only because of the two's extremely similar facial and physical characteristics, but also because Angra Mainyu is listed as one of the beings capable of using [Projection] of the [Trace] type in Fate.

'And let's face it, that would be cooler if they were actually just parallel versions of each other like what happens in Hoyoverse.'

'But going back to what I said before, I mentioned Gaia, right?, so let's conclude the topic of [Projection] before returning to that.'

As mentioned, Shirou was able to partially bypass the restrictions of the [Projection] Magecraft using his Reality Marble.

'I can't just sit around thinking about this either, let's put these powers to work.' As soon as I finished my thought, I began to project all the merely important Noble Phantasms that were in the UBW.

The concept of a Reality Marble (Limited Innate Field) is one that centers on the materialization and projection of one's inner world into reality following the Thaumaturgical Theory of the World Egg.

The created worlds are completely cut off from normal reality, projecting their internal landscape and sealing the regular World. Following the Thaumaturgical Theory of the World Egg, the upgrade of a Reality Marble is the result of the exchange of the Self and the World while maintaining the same boundary.

The size of the Self and the World are exchanged, enclosing the World in a small container while the Self is expanded. The contained World is the World Egg and the name of the theory. The reason it is called the Thaumaturgical Theory of the World Egg is because, in Alchemy, an egg is considered the hidden meaning of the world as well as the soul.

'This thing is confusing to understand even though I have one with me' I couldn't help but complain as I finished designing the bayonet version of Kanshou and Bakuya.

They will enclose anyone within range, making them disappear from sight. Magi are still able to sense the presence of the Bounded Field, and while they cannot be directly affected from the outside, a large burst of mana, such as Excalibur, may be able to disrupt them.

The World always continually attempts to destroy unnatural Bounded Fields, as they are not created by spiritual beings, meaning that it costs a great deal of magical energy to construct one and keep it stabilized. This usually only allows them to be used for a few minutes, but given their powerful nature, this is probably enough time to utilize them properly; even the strongest Dead Apostle cannot maintain a Reality Marble for more than a night.

Each world has its own set of standards and rules, which can be considered an invasion of reality by the diagram inscribed in the soul, and since it is only an aspect put into form, the user cannot add their own will into the form of the barrier.

'Good, I will continue projecting various weapons and Noble Phantasms until it is noon.'

'I think that concludes the penultimate topic, now comes the Counter Force' I thought as the Aestus Estus projection ended and the Gae Bolg projection began.

The Counter Force is a security device formed by a World to defend itself against extinction and is synonymous with the World it represents.

The concept of the Counter Force is central to the World, and there are two types: Gaia and Alaya. Gaia is the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic desire to survive and thrive. Alaya, on the other hand, is humanity's collective unconscious will to avoid extinction. As humans are creatures of the Earth, Alaya was a component of Gaia. However, as humanity began to develop independently of nature, it became independent. With this divergence, Alaya is no longer aligned with Gaia and potential conflict could result.

Despite being called the "will of the planet" and the "will of humanity", the Counter Forces are emotionless. In fact, because the planet is so large, it has more than one "mental characteristic", such as "a mind closely tied to human society" or "a mind at odds with human society".

The Contra Forces are described as passive spirals of energy that respond to threats of planetary destruction or human extinction. They are always active, constantly steering humanity and the planet away from potential dangers. Typically, the Contra Forces act indirectly. For example, Shiki Ryougi was taken by the Contra Force to eliminate the threat that is Souren Araya, while Jeanne d'Arc is considered by Mikiya Kokutou to possibly be empowered by the Contra Force.

While Gaia and Alaya are intangible forces of will, they each enlist physical agents to deal with events too threatening to be addressed with indirect intervention. Gaia's agents consist of Elementals such as Lugh Beowulf, Fairies, True Ancestors, some Ghostly Species, and some Divine Spirits. Alaya's agents are Heroic Spirits and Counter Guardians, human Spirits who pledge their eternal service to Alaya in exchange for power during their lifetime.

'One of them is also known as Emiya Shirou, who is the original user of UBW and the other powers that came with it.'

The Counter Forces have immense power at their disposal. However, only the appropriate amount is released to deal with a particular event. If the threat possesses an amount of power equal to X, then the Counter Force will deploy an amount of power just enough to extinguish X and eliminate the threat. The amount of power can be as small as pushing individuals into place through "coincidences," but it can also be as large as sinking an entire continent.

"Haahh, it's over! Even though I have a very powerful comprehension ability and memory, I still feel a little confused about these things." I left as soon as I finished all four simultaneous tasks I was doing.

"Reviewing the concepts of the Nasuverse, doing setting calculations, designing weapons and even reviewing their stories is a bit tiring" I exclaimed as I looked around me.

What I saw was a laboratory room almost in ruins, swords, scimitars, spears, scythes, arrows and noble ghosts, everything was scattered around the old laboratory that was now almost in pieces because it could not support some of the weapons I designed.

'Well, I think that's it, right? Now it's time to rest, eat and enjoy the weekend' I stood up slowly while stretching after sitting for too long.

'All this delay really makes me anxious, I hope we start moving soon, I feel my body glued for some action' I started walking until the exit of the laboratory that began to distort and disappear.

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Sorry for the delay, the dates for work and exam are pressing so I needed a little more time.

On the other hand, the chapter is a little longer.

So until next time.

Akira Hiakuya.